Artistic Differances
by HeartofJade
Summary: She had come to New York to escape trouble and start over. But then again, she had never been very good at staying out of trouble. Can some odd new friends help her out of her most recent trouble, or at least keep her alive through it?
1. Should Have Slept In

Long copper curls slid from the loose pony tail and fell over sapphire eyes. With an impatient sigh they were shoved back by long fingers tipped in equally blue nail polish. The rebellious curls were quickly shoved back under the loose band and expected to stay there, though it was obvious they would be back again. The hand returned to its place on the camera and the eyes returned to the lens. Perched precariously on the top of the old church she quickly took a few more shots of the park in all its snow filled glory from her position. These shots were going to turn out beautifully, she just knew it. Blowing at the curls that returned to irritate her she used the zoom lens to ensure she had all the shots she wanted. Frowning when it revealed three men at the entrance to the part in suits, glancing down at her watch her frown increased. It was oh god thirty in the morning, who on earth besides her crazy self would be out here in this below zero weather? And the only reason she was out here was to get some shots before the snow was disturbed by the city and it's ever changing populace.

Biting her lip she considered just getting down from her perch and ignoring that she had ever seen anything. After all hadn't she already learned her lesson about curiosity and its many consequences? None of which ever ended up being good for her. Groaning she resumed her perch, knowing she would be driving herself nuts for the rest of the day if she didn't. Watching through the lens she snapped off a few shots of the guys with a slight laugh. I mean these guys were almost exact replicas of some mafia movie, she almost felt like she was watching a taping of the godfather!

Having just decided she was done playing super spy on the wanna be gangsters she started to put her camera down when a pretty little 45 was pulled. Her mouth dropped and her eyes widened as she automatically shot a couple more frames off. Was that a silencer? She'd only ever seen one in a movie, this was so not happening. A startled yelp and a gasp left her as the guy on the left lifted the 45 and blood sprayed the snow covered brick wall behind the man to his right, then the other man as well. She wasn't sure how long she sat there with her finger glued to the button and the camera informing her that she was snapping off frames that were no longer available. Snapping out of it she groaned and slapped herself in the forehead. Obviously she was suicidal in some former life, cause now not only was she a witness to a double homicide, she had pictures of it.

Carefully back tracking from her position she pulled the film from her camera and shoved it into the container then in her pocket. Call her old fashioned but she liked being in a dark room and making prints. Not that memory cards and digital editing wasn't fun too, but she just liked doing it the old fashioned way. Her movements were jerky as she shoved her camera in the case and the put away the lenses, a casual observer may think she was perfectly calm on the outside. On the inside she was pretty sure that she could start hyperventilating at any moment. "So much for a quite morning of shooting scenery." Grabbing her things she all but fled the roof top of the church, sliding a bit as she finally reached the ladder and climbed down. Not wanting things to seem out of the ordinary she quickly thanked the priest while she brushed snow from her black pea coat. Her moment of normalcy done, her beat up and worn out converse made barely a noise on the ice and snow covered pavement as she ran for all she was worth back to her dinky apartment.

"Pick up." Another ring came through the line. "Pick up!" Groaning as yet another ring filled her ears. "PICK UP!!" Normally she was a bit more patient, just a bit.

"I swear woman if I have to answer my phone and hear you screaming at me one more time I'm just gonna stop answering." A rich male voice fairly snarled in her ear. The man rubbed his face and then ran his hand through his tussled hair as he reached for his watch. "Why the hell are you calling me at seven in the morning?! You better be bleeding or dying, at this point preferably dying.

"Shut it Georgie. I went out this morning to take shots of the snow at sunrise, and I got a little more than I intended." Georgie groaned and the sound of him falling back on his pillow with a sigh was a predecessor to the lecture she usually got.

"Why? Why can you not go even a week without finding trouble? I swear you have it tattooed on you some damn where." Yawning he got up, knowing whatever trouble she had managed to find now was not going to be solved without some coffee. Well, coffee and possibly a shot of something strong and straight up. "I swear I almost wish I had let you take on that mugger by yourself. I don't think I've gotten to sleep in since I met you woman."

An impatient huff was his answer and it made him smirk. If the girl had any luck at all it was bad luck. Georgie wasn't sure what she had done to royally piss off Karma, but Karma seemed to take great pleasure in kicking the crap out of the petite girl. "Alright alright I got my coffee, now tell me what you managed to do Skie." Pulling the phone away from her ear her sapphire eyes narrowed at it in a death glare.

Shoving back the always rebellious curls she replaced the phone. "I witnessed a double homicide and I'm pretty sure I got some great shots of it. All Mafia style to." The sound of Georgie choking on his coffee had her smirking, after all that's what he gets for lecturing her. It's not like she purposely went out to find trouble all the time. "What the hell!?" Yanking the phone away from her ear she glared at it again. "Don't yell at me! It's not like I went out the door this morning saying 'Oh I think I'll just go perch on a church roof for two hours and watch as some weird mobster straight out of Godfather blows out two guys brains. Oh and let's not forget to get a few shots while I'm at it!" Huffing again she kicked her side table glared at it as it decided to repay her by the breaking and falling over on the floor.

A heavy sigh and Skie could just see the tall man leaning over his counter with his head in his hand and shaking. Longer dark hair falling over his fingers and his face half smushed in the palm of his hand. "Have you gone to the police yet?" Skie rolled her eyes, of course she hadn't gone to the police yet, did he think she wanted to paint a target on her back?! "I was thinking I could just send over the prints anonymously. I mean I kinda don't want the mafia trying to kill me, I'm pretty sure I have enough issues thank you." A knock on her door had her pausing and glancing at the clock on her microwave. Moving quietly over her beat up wood floors she glanced out the peep hole and blinked. Another knock had Georgie asking her what was going on. Ignoring his deep baritone she backed away from the door and glanced around her apartment.

Her building was an eyesore, and she was pretty sure it was one step away from being condemned. It was not the place that someone dressed in a three piece Armani suit would be swinging by to knock on a door. Ignoring Gerogie's insistent voice she hung up on him. Staying as quite as possible she quickly grabbed her camera and messenger bag from her card table and slipped them on. Still staying quite as the pounding became persistent, she made her way to her bedroom. Sliding the window open was easy since the stupid thing was broken and refused to lock anyways. Climbing onto the rusted and not so steady looking fire escape took a bit more pep talk than she had initially thought, especially when the thing groaned and shook as she put her weight on it. Most people would think she was over reacting, but most people didn't start their morning witnessing a murder.

Taking deep breaths and trying to reassure herself that the rusty iron beneath her fingers was not going to collapse, she managed to make it all the way to the dumpster that sat under the ladder before a head popped out of her window and looked down at her. Skie looked back at him and blinked once before she hopped off the dumpster and took off at a dead run. "Why is it always me!?"


	2. Delusionals Anonymous!

Skie was thankful for the first time in her life that it had started snowing again. Avoiding the subway she had made her way to the bus station and stashed her camera, though she had kept the roll of film in her pocket. These days just about everyone used digital so she was sure the guys looking for her would assume the same about her. The six o'clock news had revealed how it had become common knowledge that someone might have not only seen something but might have pictures. The stupid priest had told the cops that she had been there and asked to take pictures from the roof. He also told them that she had been pretty quick to leave once she had come down. Perhaps full on running for her life from the church had been more of a giveaway than she had meant it to be.

Either way cops were asking her to come forward but not giving out a general description or flashing names and pictures around. The fact that they weren't told her one of two things, these guys that were after her were serious bad news, or they had no idea what they were looking for.

Shivering she huddled a little further into her coat, it really wasn't made to keep someone warm more than four hours at a time. Nor were her gloves and scarf. The coffee place on the corner she was coming up to looked promising, and sounded way too good to pass up by this point. I mean those guys wouldn't still be crawling the streets looking for her now that it was nine thirty and dark out. Involuntarily she let out a groan as the guy in the Armani and two other well dressed men came out of the coffee shop looking a hell of a lot warmer than she felt.

Glancing around she quickly ducked into the alley between the pizza place and the coffee shop and moved into the shadow as far as she dared without touching the nasty trash cans. She bit her lip and held her breath as their shoes crunched over the icy pavement. As soon as they had passed the alley she let out a breath and turned to make a run from it and put some distance between them. Glancing behind her to make sure they hadn't heard her and decided to check the alley she turned back to the front just in time to take a metal door to the face.

One minute she's running down an alley and the next she's on the ground in said alley with someone pushing her to sit up. Skie blinked to try and clear her head of the haze that had settled. Something warm and coppery was on her lips and she reached a confused hand up to touch it. Blood? Then the pain in her nose registered and she groaned before taking the chance to touch it. It was sore but she didn't think it was broken. Her hand was pulled away and a stack of pizza boxes was shoved onto her lap as someone tilted her head back to get a look at her nose. Well if they were worried about her nose at least they weren't trying to kill her.

"Hey you with us?" Skie blinked at the question, not sure that she was with them. Just how hard had she hit that door? Concerned brown eyes were suddenly in her vision and she blinked at them. "Jeez just how hard did you hit her?!" An impatient voice said from behind her. The brown eyes rolled but continued to look her over. The brown of his eyes really stood out against the orange that surrounded them. Blink. Orange? Shifting her head back so she could take more in she realized it was a mask of some kind. Then she noticed his green skin and the hand waving in front of her face and three fingers. Blinking again she arched an eyebrow. "How hard _did_ you hit me?" She asked, repeated the impatient ones question as a cloth was pressed to her nose. The brown eyes twinkled with amusement, a flash of white teeth and a laugh following. "Hard enough for you to see giant walking, talking turtles."

Silence. The smile faded and the brown eyes shot to something over her head, she assumed it was the impatient one. Reaching up she wiped the blood from her nose, realizing it had stopped. Reaching down slowly she shifted the pizza boxes still sitting on her lap and wiped the blood on her ripped and worn jeans. She liked her beat up clothes, they were comfortable. Arching an eyebrow as the one in front of her continued to eye her she shrugged at him. "Are you waiting for me to start screaming and hit you with your pizza boxes?" It was his turn to blink confusedly at her. "Cause that would be a horrible waste of pizza, and screaming would draw unwanted attention." Not that she was going to admit it was unwanted attention to her as well as them. At least she assumed it was them, since there were two voices.

Another smile and the boxes were removed and handed off as the three fingered hand was in front of her again, this time offering her a hand up off the ground. "I'm Michelangelo. But they call me Mikey." Skie grabbed his hand and was a bit surprised as he easily yanked her to her feet. It wasn't like she weighed a ton or anything but she wasn't anorexic either, she liked her pizza and junk food far too much to go without. "SkieLark Trilloni." She answered. "Though most people just call me Skie, of course most people don't smack me with metal doors either."

Mikey laughed, and she couldn't help the return smile that crossed her face. "That's Raph he's my brother." There was a nod over her shoulder and she turned slightly to see that she had been right about this Raph being impatient as he stood there holding pizza boxes. She had also been right to assume they were alike, except Raph wore red. "Color coded for my convenience. Handy." Raph didn't look amused but Mikey started laughing and ruffled the copper curls, Skie didn't mind, it wasn't like they could get any messier.

"So." Raph asked obviously irritated. "What are you doing booking it down an alley anyways little girl." Skie frowned and put her hands on her hips. Ok so she wasn't the tallest person by any means, in fact she was all of five foot three inches, but that didn't make her a little girl. It just made her short. His question did remind her that she had people to avoid though. "Well if you must know I was on my way to a delusionals anonymous meeting." Looking at her watch she tsked. "And would you look at that I'm a little late." Sighing heavily she eyed him for a moment. "Not to mention now I have to stand up tonight and start from scratch. I was doing so well too." Mikey snickered. "A whole three months without a delusion and then wham one smack with a door and my record is broken." Raph just glared at her till a ringing sound started coming from somewhere on him. Skie arched an eyebrow, knowing she didn't have a cell phone at the moment so it had to be him. Mikey took the pizzas as he answered an odd looking cell phone and grinned for the first time. "What's up Georgie?" Skie blinked, no couldn't be. I mean it's New York, there had to be hundreds of people who went by a name like that in a city like this. "Whoa whoa slow down, so you went by her place and it's trashed? Well what's she look like we can help you look for her." Skie stiffened as Raph eyed her with a smirk. "Oh yea, curly copper hair, blue eyes, black pea coat huh? Yea I think I seen something like that tonight."

Or there could be just one.


	3. Alice Ain't The Only One in Wonderland

And that one was pissed off. Not that this was a new development when it came to her, but it still made her wince at the yelling coming through the cell that Raph had happily thrown at her. Pulling it away from her ear she glared at it, secretly looking for the end call button. "ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME!?" Skie nearly dropped it as his voice screamed through at her.

Groaning she brought it to her ear again. "Honestly?" The sound of him counting under his breath usually mean yes. "Nope. I was trying to figure out how to hang up on you." A growl indicated that her honesty was not appreciated. "So……..can I crash at your place for a couple days?" Silence did not bode well for her living arrangements. "Oh by the way, thanks for telling me about the giant pizza eating turtles walking around. I can't believe you laughed at me when I asked if there really were gators in the sewers here." Ah there it was the heavy sigh, her queue that he understood he wasn't the only one with a right to be irritated in this situation.

"Skie. Where are you?" Now that was a good question. She could be sarcastic and tell him she was standing in an alley. Or she could simply tell him she wasn't sure where she had wandered to. Either answer was not going to appease him at the moment though. "Let me guess. You don't know where you are."

It was her turn to sigh in irritation. "I do so! I'm in an alley between a pizza place and a coffee place." Thud. Skie arched an eyebrow at the phone before listening intently to the silence. "Did you knock yourself out?" A snort of sarcasm answered that one. "You know if you hit your head against something every time you talk to me you're eventually going to have a dent in your forehead."

"Skie for my sanity's sake just be quite for five minutes while I think." Skie humored him, after all she knew the routine by this point. After all the yelling and sighing and thudding came the pacing and the talking to himself while he threw his arms around. Usually it wasn't till he was finished with that bit and glaring at her that she reminded him that she did not ask for his help to begin with.

She really didn't have time for this with the pizza off her lap and standing in the cold again she was, well, cold. "Look Georgie I know you have this weird hero complex thing, but put it on a back burner would you? I am not a Disney princess and you sir are no prince charming. I'm pretty sure sleeping beauty would have bitch slapped you by this point and saved herself from the dragon." And we were back to growling. "Look I'm going to develop the film and take it to the police. Once I hand it over I'll inform them that I am not testifying, they can have the negatives, and I'll be done with it."

Raph and Mikey glanced at each other, both looking as unsatisfied by that answer as she knew Georgie himself would. "Go with Raph and Mikey." The order was blunt and made him sound more like her father than best friend. It was also probably the worst idea he had ever had. Skie did not take orders well, in fact she didn't take orders at all. Teen girls giving their Dad's hell had nothing on her. "Go jump off a bridge." She responded in a snapping tone with a growl of her own.

"Skie don't get pissy with me on this! These guys aren't playing around you haven't seen what they did to your place! Go with them and I'll bring you what I can salvage in a couple hours!" Georgie's tone was not only commanding but slightly pleading, he knew she wouldn't take being told what to do well, but he needed her to do what she was told for once.

Grinding her teeth to try and keep her need to tell him off for ordering her around in check she let out a hiss of pure anger. She was having a very bad, strange, but bad day. Being ordered around was not the way to get her to do something, anything. Even if it probably was the only good idea at the moment, not that she tended to go with the good ones or she wouldn't be here to begin with. Her eyes narrowed on the turtles in front of her, they looked fairly ridiculous in fedoras and trench coats. Did people really not see through that? Just how dense was the populace of New York?

"Exactly what are they going to do besides throw pizza boxes at them?" Georgie laughed. "You'd be surprised Skie." Rolling her eyes she snorted. At this point she wasn't sure she could be surprised. "So will you go with them?"

Sighing she rubbed the bridge of her nose as she tried to sort through her options. There weren't many left to her and Georgie trusted these guys. "And yet somehow this is still not the weirdest night of my life." She mumbled to herself as she pushed her gloved fingers through her curls to shove them from her face. "Alright alright, as long as I can snag a couple slices of pizza and get a decent cup of something sweet and warm to drink I'll go with the delusions."

Mikey snickered as Raph caught the phone she threw at his head, taking in her impatient stance. "So." Mikey said with a smirk as he moved to stand close to her while Raph talked with Georgie. "If this isn't the weirdest night of your life what was?"

Pursing her lips she studied him for a moment then shook her head. "I am so not reliving that one. Though it was a total different kind of weird." Mikey arched an eyebrow, obviously curious as to what she had that might possibly top meeting them. "Come on princess, ain't got all night." Raph growled at her. Muttering under her breath about glorified wanna be gangster sounding turtles, Skie followed reluctantly behind Raph with Mikey behind her.

* * *

"You gonna stare at it all night or you gonna climb down." Sapphire eyes narrowed on him then returned to the open manhole and ladder he was indicating. Mikey was already at the bottom and Raph had already handed down the pizza's.

Skie chewed her lip for a moment as she considered walking away at this point. "So let me get this straight. When I asked Georgie if there really were gators in the sewers, what his real answer should have been was something like: 'No but there are giant turtles who I have befriended.'?" Raph rolled his eyes and made an impatient motion towards the ladder again. "Yea, I'm pretty sure that didn't work the first two times you did it." She snapped as she repeated his motion to him in an exaggerated manner. "Do I look like cattle?" Raph arched an eyebrow at her and looked like he was actually going to answer. "Dude really?! Cause you just don't answer that when it comes to a chick! You really don't! It's called self preservation instincts and all wild animals are supposed to have them!"

"That's it, Mikey put the pizza's down I'm tossing her." Raph growled as he stood and advanced on her. She wasn't sure why Georgie thought these guys could protect her but in this moment Raph was pretty menacing and more than a little threatening. Without thinking she stepped back and away from him. Her mind only had a couple seconds to process that she just stepped back onto nothing before Raph's hand shot out snagged her arm. "Look lady, I would prefer you don't crack yer head open and bleed all over the place." His voice was gruff, but his grip was gentler than she would have expected. "Now." Pulling her slightly till her foot was back on the pavement he made another motion to the ladder. "Move it!"

Clearing her throat and straightening her jacket she nodded. "Consider it moved. But if anything down there tries to eat me I'm blaming you." Raph just rolled his eyes as she quickly climbed down to join Mikey. Looking around the area she made a face put her gloved hand over her mouth and nose. "I so wish I could say this was the most disgusting place I've ever been."

Being careful of where she stepped, touched, or breathed she followed the two easily. At one point Raph blindfolded her, a safety precaution that she understood. Understanding and dealing with being blindfolded in a sewer were two very different things however. It was quickly made pretty clear that if he allowed her to come to any kind of a gushy, smelly, or otherwise disgusting end she would be more than happy to make turtle soup for dinner.

"Alright princess, one more step and you're on pavement." Raph instructed just as she moved her foot from the last rung and set it on said pavement. "Now hold still. I called ahead so you're expected."

Skie frowned as she felt the blind fold being removed. "Expected? Expected by what the sewer rats?" The blind fold fell away and she blinked to clear her vision, her eyes widening as she did. Two more color coded turtles looked at her in an amused fashion. But it was the giant rat who drew her attention. Blinking at him she simply stood completely still for a few moments. "Ok that's just not something you don't warn a girl about."

Laughing Mikey held his hand out to Raph. "Dude you owe me ten bucks!" He insisted as Raph grumbled and shot Skie an irritated look. "I told you she wouldn't scream." Skie arched an eyebrow at them before rolling her eyes.

Her attention was again focused on the rat as it moved and made a tsking noise at the boys. She nearly jumped out of her skin when it opened its mouth and informed them that gambling was improper in front of guests. In Japanese accent no less. "A Japanese rat." Delusionals anonymous eat your heart out, she would like to dare anyone to come up with something bizarre enough to actually top this.

The rat made a motion to the blue one and he moved towards her. Skie held her hand up to him. "Wait just wait!" He stopped but watched her warily. "Just-Just give a girl a moment." Putting her hand to her head she suddenly realized why everything was spinning a bit. "And a chair, a chair would be good."

Raph snorted. "Too much for you princess?" He mocked as Mikey took her arm and guided her into a chair. Ignoring him for the time being she sat down and put her head between her legs, breathing normally so she didn't pass out was a bit more important than telling him off.

"Hey dude lay off, she's handled it pretty well. Better than most do." Mikey defended with a frown at his brother. "At least she isn't screaming and freaking out." A hand moved her hair off her neck and a cold wash cloth was pressed against the bared skin.

As soon as she was sure her breathing was back under control she opened her eyes to see a glass of water being held within her vision. Blinking she accepted it and sat up slightly. "Better?" It was the purple one. "Do you want some aspirin? There's a nasty bruise forming on your forehead."

"Mikey has an interesting way of saying hello." It was the only thing she could think of as an answer, but it got a slight smile and he stopped looking so concerned. Taking a sip of the water she took the moment to study him and the others. "Sorry about that. I get a little light headed sometimes."

Raph snorted, but made no move to call her out. "Skie this is our father and Master, Splinter. The one in blue is my brother Leo and the one in purple is Donnie." Mikey said with a slight glare at Raph. "Master?"

Grinning Mikey nodded at her. "Yep we're Ninja. Good Ninja, but Ninja."

Skie nodded. Of course they were, it only made sense at this point. "So I've already seen the pot smoking caterpillar who told me to eat the shrooms right?"

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT.

Please let me know what you think so far.


	4. Who says spoons aren't weapons?

A couple of slices of pizza and a yummy cup of hot chocolate later, and Skie had to admit she was feeling a little less like Alice. Though she still felt like she was in a SyFy channel movie of the week. With another sigh at the sweet taste that exploded over tongue she raised her eyes to see Georgie approaching where they all sat.

Once Mikey had stopped laughing at her comment he had dished up pizza for everyone and asked her what she would like to drink. Her answer had simply been 'Something sweet and hot. And if you've got it a little bite.' There had been no bite, but the homemade hot chocolate that Mikey had placed in her hands had been heaven anyways. Lapsing into silence to properly appreciate the chocolate lovers paradise, she had listened only half heartedly as the others had talked and laughed.

Georgie held only her beat up leather duffle bag and one of her portfolio's. Skie groaned. "You couldn't wait till the chocolate lulled me into a warm paradise of coma before you showed up could you?" Rolling his eyes he set the bag next to her. Grumbling about a man's lack of proper respect for chocolate as she opened the bag. Sifting through the clothes she found her soaps and an extra pair of shoes, it was more what she didn't see that brought a frown to her face.

Georgie knelt down next to her and stopped her hands as she continued to go through the bag. "It was broken. I brought the pieces, Donnie's real good at fixing things, maybe he can do something with it." Skie looked back to the ladder and saw the box that most likely held the pieces he talked about. "Skie….." Ignoring him she got to her feet and marched to the box, determined to see for herself.

For the first time that day she felt tears prick at the back of her eyes. One of the few precious things she had brought in that suit case with her had been her jewelry box and its contents. Her hand shaking she reached in to pull out the shattered remains of the little wooden box. Lifting what was left of the wood it failed to release the soft melody of some long forgotten song that her grandmother had adored when she was a child. The wood carved in delicate designs to resemble songbirds perching and flitting from tree to tree. The missing music didn't hurt her heart as much as the missing locket did though.

This little box had survived all the way from Ireland with her Grandmother's family, passed down to her Mother. When her Father gave it to her it had contained a locked that had also been her Grandmothers. These items had been precious and important to her mother and so were in turn precious to her.

Georgie took the shattered remains from her fingers and put it back in the box. "Maybe Donnie can fix it." Skie snorted, there wasn't much to fix. Patting her head he took the box over to Donnie so he could sort through, Skie followed him quickly. Donnie looked at it and glanced up at her, he didn't wanna say it but she was betting she was right. Sighing she sat back down in the chair she had been in before.

"I had more than this when I first got here." She muttered as she kicked the leather bag. So much earned and worked for now lost, all in a matter of hours. Her sapphire eyes blinked as her cup, newly filled with steaming chocolate, was held out to her. Shooting Mikey a very thankful look and smile she accepted it and sipped, allowing it to sooth her frayed nerves.

"Well, until those guys stop looking for you I think it's best you keep yourself right here." Georgie said as he and Leo both turned to her. Oh crap, she knew that look. Stupid men, always thinking their dominant when everyone knows who really runs things. Ignoring them for the moment she focused on the hot chocolate.

"Skie, it would be the smartest thing to do." Ok that one earned him a look, honestly did anything she had done today strike him as the smartest thing? Eyebrow raised and mocking stare engaged he quickly cleared his throat and rubbed his neck. At this point he was stuck with either insulting her or ordering her around some more. Neither was going to get him the result he wanted.

Then Leo stepped in. "You will stay with us. We know about this mob, we can fix you a room and you can develop the pictures. We'll make sure they'll be delivered while you are kept alive and safe." He turned like that was the end of the conversation. Mikey must have seen the fire spark in Skie's eyes as he took her cup from her hands and backed away.

"And just who named you the all mighty master of my life?" Skie started as she stood up and crossed her arms. "What gives you the right to boss me around or take over my life? Let's get something straight blue boy, you don't make the rules for me." Georgie frowned and held up his hands. "Now Skie……" Skie whirled on him and jabbed him in the sternum with her finger. "And neither do you! So shut your pie hole before I find a spoon to stab you with!" This threw the two of them off enough to keep them quite.

"Both of you stop trying to tell me what to do. If I wanted to be ordered around and told how to live my life, I'd go live in a convent!" Huffing she picked up a pillow from the chair and shook it at them. "Believe it or not just because I don't have a penis doesn't mean I don't know how to make good decisions!" Leo's eyes widened and he shook his hands in that motion when you only just realize how badly something you've said has been taken. "A please wouldn't kill you! I might, but a please wouldn't!"

"Would you just sit down and stop PMSing so we can discuss this!" Georgie yelled back, fed up with her not just doing as she was told. It was the wrong choice and even Raph winced at his choice of words.

Skie honestly couldn't remember what came over her. It was like the sound of twig snapping, and she really wanted Georgie to be that twig. The turtles looked startled as she dropped the pillow, used the coffee table as a launching point, and tackled Georgie to the ground. His face was priceless as she let out a cry of pure frustration and launched at him. He grunted as he hit the hard cement floor and groaned as his head actually bounced.

Quickly getting over the shock of her sudden burst of violence, the turtles quickly came to Georgie's aid as his grunts and ouch's started ringing out. Mikey grabbed the shouting girl around her waist and hauled her off of the prone man on the floor. She struggled a bit but was really no match for any of them.

Georgie frowned at her as Leo and Raph hauled him to his feet. Rubbing his jaw, he was amazed to admit that she actually got in a good hit. "Nice right hook." Skie stood with Mikey's arms still holding her around the waist glaring daggers at him. "Ok. Let's try this again now that you're a little less stressed out." She crossed her arms over Mikey's and snorted at him. "Will you please stay here where I know you are safe and relatively out of trouble till we can work all this out?"

Skie frowned at him and looked for the mocking and sarcastic tones in the question, but it was oddly lacking them. "Fine. I can handle that." She answered grudgingly as Mikey finally released her. Nodding Georgie gave her a smirk and playfully slugged her in the arm, which actually had her staggering to the side a bit.

Rolling his eyes as Mikey steadied her from behind he shook his head. "Who knows, maybe you could actually learn how to defend yourself while you're here. Lord knows it wouldn't hurt you any."

Pouting as she rubbed her arm, Skie flipped him off. Laughing Mikey nudged her and motioned for her to follow him. "It's late how about some sleep?" Now that sounded like something she could handle as well. He already held her portfolio, messenger bag, and leather duffle. "In the morning I'll make you some pancakes with chocolate. That should keep you from stabbing anyone with spoons." He quipped with a wink that had her smirking and following him.

* * *

......I swear this is in a larger font before I put it up here. I'm starting to feel like the computer is out to get me. Again.


	5. Potty Dance

Skie shifted yet again on the bed she had been settled in. The tidy room had book shelves lining most of the wall, all organized as though in a library. She had the distinct feeling that dust feared this room like an ant feared a magnifying glass in the hands of a kid. More grunting and the odd ping of metal on metal made her shift again as it echoed through the open door. This had been going on for at least half an hour.

The pillow rose only enough for her to narrow her eyes at the little clock on the small bedside table before it lowered again with a groan. If she had known she would be woken up at six in the bloody morning she would have made sure that hot chocolate had the bite she had requested. The sudden absence of the sounds had her lifting the pillow again and listening closely. Letting out a blissful sigh she dropped the pillow and closed her eyes, enjoying the silence that met her ears.

Literally seconds before drifting into another coma of sleep her bladder decided it needed attention. Comfortable, warm, and nearly asleep it took Skie a good five minutes to decide that she really did need to get up, and another five to talk herself into actually moving. Irritated she shoved out of the blankets, the messy bed looking horribly out of place in the room. A hiss left her as her bare feet touched the icy floor and she reconsidered having to go to the bathroom. Deciding it really couldn't be avoided she grit her teeth and stood.

Opening the door more than the small crack she quietly made her way down the hall to where she had been told the bathroom was. Her baggy orange and green plaid pj pants were long enough to give her feet a little protection from the cold floor. She rubbed her arms and decided she should have taken a moment to get a sweater out of her bag; the matching tank top was doing nothing for keeping her warm.

Turning the corner to the bathroom she nearly wet herself right there. Half asleep sapphire eyes opened wider than she thought possible as they nearly crossed to focus on the blade that was pointed in her face. "Skie?" It was the blue one, what was his name again? Crazy freak with a katana? No that was too long. "What are you doing up?"

She blinked at him, the sudden kick start to her brain making her wonder if there really was something in that hot chocolate. "I was going to the bathroom, but I think I'm good now." Rolling his eyes he put the blade in a case across his back and shook his head at her. Well, the upside was she wasn't cold anymore, that had fled with the sudden surge of 'what the fuck' her sleepy brain had screamed as it was jerked into reality.

"Sorry about that, we just had practice." Practice? Oh, right, ninja turtles and rat. Guess they did have to actually practice that must have been what all the grunting was about. Skie arched an eyebrow as he just stared at her and then pointed to a door to their right. "You said you were headed for the bathroom."

Skie nodded. "I was just waiting for my brain to let me know if I still needed it to go pee or if I needed a shower now." Ok so there was a little bit of bite to that, but it was only six thirty in the morning and dude had shoved a long, sharp blade in her face.

Leo smirked and nodded as he headed in the direction of the kitchen. "I'll tell Mikey you're up so he can start breakfast. You are up aren't you?" Skie snorted and shot him a dirty look as she mocked his question while slamming the bathroom door. Yea cause it was a natural thing for a girl to go back to sleep after having a good two years of her life scared out of her.

* * *

Mikey greeted her with a tussle to her already overly messed up hair and a cup of coffee. Skie made a face and backed away from the cup. "No thanks. I'd rather drink moonshine straight out of a still." Ducking around the cup she sat down at the table next to Raph and across from Donnie. Leo was reading the paper and Donnie was drinking a cup of coffee, Raph stretched and snatched the sports page from the paper. Mikey shrugged and set the cup in front of Donnie. The whistle of a tea kettle met her ears as it was grabbed off the stove by an old hand. Splinter proceeded to pour the hot water into a cup obviously already prepared. As the scent of a rich black tea filled the kitchen over the scent of coffee Skie sniffed appreciatively. An involuntary sigh escaped at just the smell of a good strong morning tea.

Opening her eyes, which she hadn't realized she had closed, she was met with amused stares as a cup of the brew was set before her by Splinter himself. "Would you like some sugar child?" Skie felt a blush spread over her cheeks as she shook her head. "No thank you, I don't like anything in my tea." She told him as she picked the cup up and sniffed again; well aware she resembled a junkie sniffing their next hit.

Splinter sat himself at the head of the table and sipped his own tea as the sound of Mikey bustling around the kitchen finally registered in her mind. Glancing up she frowned. "Would you like some help?" She volunteered as he moved past her. Mikey smiled and shook his head. "Nah, I got this. You can help with lunch." Deciding that sounded fair she nodded and returned to her tea.

Before long a stack of steaming and delicious looking chocolate chip pancakes was set before her and the others. "Guests first." Leo said as he motioned for her to take what she wanted from the pile. Shrugging she took two from the stack and started to dig in. "That's it?" Skie paused to see she had the whole table's attention.

Frowning she nodded. "I don't eat a lot in the morning." Another shrug and she shoved a bit of pancake in to her mouth, avoiding anymore conversation. Skie only caught herself seconds before moaning at the taste. These were better than any take out pancakes she had ever had. "Oh, oh these are soooooo good." That muttered around her second bite, she quickly devoured the rest on her plate.

Looking up she saw Mikey watching her, obviously amused. "Don't you ever make pancakes?" He asked her as he finished off his own. Skie snorted and almost laughed. Truth was, despite the fact she had been on her own for almost five years now, she had never bothered to really learn how to cook. Mikey arched an eye ridge at her. "You don't cook?"

Skie considered that question for a couple moments, noticing she again had the whole table's attention. "Does Mac and Cheese from a box or Ramen count?" Mikey looked horrified as Skie innocently sipped from her tea. "Is that what you've been eating? No wonder you're a stick." A stick? Pouting she looked down at herself, still clad in her pjs, and glared at him. "I will have you know I am the proper weight for my height."

Raph snorted. "Yea Mikey, she's the proper weight. Just hasn't got any muscle to it." Skie turned to him and pointed her fork at him. "You know, that could be construed as calling me fat." Raph just gave her that odd smirking sneer she was beginning to get used to. "Forks stab better than spoons."

Raph let out a good loud chuckle at that one. "Princess, if you could actually get anywhere near really stabbing me, with anything, I'd let you get away without a beating. Cause way I see it you would have earned that freebie." Skie rolled her eyes and tossed the fork on her plate as she stood up and headed for the sink. Crazy she may be, stupid she was not.

Mikey appeared beside her and she nearly dropped her plate. "I am so putting a bell on you people." She muttered, managing to just keep her plate from hitting the bottom of the sink. Mikey refrained from informing her that with their training a bell would do her no good.

"You know since you're gonna be here a bit, we could do some cooking lessons." Mikey offered her as he slipped his plate in the sink. Skie bit her lip and glanced at the kitchen. "The last person who tried to teach me how to cook ended up swearing that if he ever saw me step foot in his kitchen again he'd personally set me on fire."

Laughing Mikey shook his head. "Can't possibly be that bad, we'll give it a try!" Shrugging Skie gave him a look that said he was in over his head. "Can't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

Anyone actually reading this?


	6. Kitchen of A Thousand Corpses

Mikey's startled yelp drew Raph from his video game to the kitchen to see what was going on. He had ignored the banging, cursing, splatting, and other general disturbing noises carried through the lair from the kitchen since Mikey had taken Skie in there nearly two hours ago. His jaw dropped at the sight and he found himself doing nothing but blinking at the mess in the kitchen.

Skie stood at the center of the mess looking confused as hell as she blinked at a glob of brown something that was slowly dripping off the ceiling. The kitchen was nearly swimming in that same brown something, dripping off cabinets, smeared over the floor, and sliding down Mikey's face. Noticing they had an audience Skie flashed Raph a smile and held out the spoon that held a small amount of the glop on it. "Wanna try my brownies?"

Mikey looked horrified and shook his head adamantly. Raph cleared his throat and started backing away. "Next time Princess….." Using his honed ninja skills he was gone before her face could turn into a glare as she turned her attention back to the glob on the ceiling.

"How do we get it back in the bowl?" The small red head asked her orange masked companion. Mikey eyed the petite disaster with red curls and pretty blue eyes. Honestly he wasn't all too clear how the hell it ended up on the ceiling to begin with, let alone how to get it down. And he was defiantly not sure he wanted it back in the bowl so much as the trash can.

"Ok. So brownies aren't your strong suite, maybe we should start smaller. Like scrambled eggs, or cereal in a bowl….." Mikey suggested as he moved to retrieve the trash can. "I'll get something to start cleaning this up with, be right back. You just…..don't try to cook anything…" How had it gone so wrong? It was brownies from a box no less! Leaving her standing in the kitchen he quickly went to retrieve something to try and clean that explosion up. He knew one thing for sure, the next time they needed a sure fire way to beat an enemy, he was gonna send her into their kitchen to cook. They'd be goners before they even realized what a natural disaster the little thing could be. Any that were left would have to eat what they could scrape off a surface. That was sure to kill them off. Then again perhaps that was a little too cruel...to their enemies that is.

Skie watched him leave the room in amusement. "Well. I did warn him." She reminded herself as she again eyed the glob of brown on the ceiling. "Warned who?" Donnie asked as he came into the kitchen and headed straight for the coffee maker…..under the brown goop.

"Uhhh I warned Mikey. " Biting her lip she split her attention between the two. "Say Donnie you might not want to stand right…." Donnie let out a surprised yelp as the brown sticky and far too gooy to be brownie, gunk splatted on his head. "There." She finished with a shrug at the turtle as he tried to wipe the substance off of him. "Here let me get you a towel."

Donni made a face as some of this stuff got in his mouth. "What is this!" He snapped as he flung some of it off his fingers and to the floor. "It tastes like glue and dirt!"

Skie pouted at him as she handed him the towel. "Its brownies thank you very much." Came her petulant response as she reached out a finger and wiped some off of him. "Can't possibly taste all that bad." Her insistence was cut short as she started gagging on the bit she licked off her finger. Holy crap that was nasty! Raph smirked from the doorway, having wanted to see Donni's response to the girl and her 'brownies'.

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Three hours later found the kitchen spotless and Skie fresh from her shower. A pair of clean jeans and a light blue sweater replaced the ones she had been wearing earlier. Humming slightly she tossed the towel in the small bin and headed out of the bathroom, stopping short when she heard Georgie's booming laughter. "I told you she couldn't cook!" His voice snorted, then laughed again.

Frowning Skie entered the room and glared at the tall man. "I'll have you know I can cook just fine. " She informed him with a nod of her head, sending her wet curls to bouncing. "I have yet to ruin a bowl of Ramen or burn my mac and cheese." Mikey doubted that after seeing her fiasco with the brownies but wasn't about to bruise her ego anymore than it already had been. Instead he just offered her a cup of hot chocolate and a smile.

Returning his smile she took a sip of the hot liquid and was instantly pacified. "You should bottle that stuff Mike. Make a fortune off of it as a female taming liquid." Georgie teased with a smirk to Skie as he watched her sit down and consume her chocolate heaven. "I brought you everything you'll need to set up a dark room here." He told her as she focused on the chocolate liquid in her cup instead of looking up at him. "I even double checked to make sure I got the chemical stuff right this time. Good thing for these guys you're a better photographer than you are cook."

Continuing to ignore him she sipped at the steaming cup. They weren't going to like what she had to say, in fact she was positive they wouldn't. The only way to get away with what she wanted was to fudge the truth just a little. "I have to get my camera. I put the film canister with the pictures in the bag with it." Chancing a glance up over the rim of the mug she could see her calculation had been correct. "I locked it in one of those storage things at the bus station." Pulling the key from her pocket on her jeans. "Lucky 13."

Georgie glared at her. "Of all the stupid things to do! I know you should know better, but somehow I'm not surprised you didn't!"

"You'll have to excuse me for not thinking straight as I'm running for my life from a bunch of guys with guns! Guns meant to shoot and kill me!" Skie shot right back as she shoved the key in her pocket again and got to her feet. "Shouting at me about my idiot choices and lifestyle are not going to get my camera back. So I suggest you shuck it up and decide how to get me to the bus station while I get my jacket."

Standing she shoved the cup into Mikey's hand and quickly made her way out of the room. True she had been counting on Georgie's reaction to substantiate her claim, but it didn't hurt any less that he actually thought she would be that stupid. Picking up her jacket off the bed she had painstakingly made she slipped her hand into the inside pocket and pulled out the little black canister. "Stupid indeed you jackass." She muttered quietly as she slipped it back into the pocket and pulled her jacket on.

Turning she jumped as her eyes met the cocky ones of a certain red banded turtle. "Playing games Princess?" He was leaning against the doorway, having followed her after she left the room. "What's yer angle?"

Frowning Skie crossed her arms over her chest and eyed Raph. "They won't let me get my camera if they know I have it." He didn't have to verify that, they both knew it was true. "I don't respond well to leashes and I need to get out of here for a bit." Not that she didn't appreciate the place to crash or the help, but a lot had happened in the last twenty four hours. She needed a bit of digesting time despite her ability to adapt quickly, not to mention a little fresh air.

Raph out of all of them could understand that. "You watch it." He said as he moved forward and held out a can of mace to her. "I don't wanna be savin ya all tha damn time little girl." Taking the mace with a snort her freshly gloved fingers slipped it into her pocket.

"This princess likes to save herself thanks." Moving past him she paused in the door and threw a smirk over her shoulder at him. "Besides, I could always just offer to cook for them. Bet that would make even Splinter cry."


End file.
